Sorry its been so long since I’ve updated this, but it turns out that retirement is REALLY hectic. Last we left our hero (that’s me in case you haven’t been paying attention) I sold my house on a whim and the new owner actually expected me to move out. Go figure.
So, on June 6th at 3pm I called the new Maintenance Lady (formerly known as the new Homeowner) and informed her that the keys were on the counter and I was vacating (I left a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom, and 2 Bud Lites in the fridge (no connection)). At 3:01pm I was on the motorcycle and on my way to Chicago for the Blues Festival.
My main goal given the late start was to get out of Texas, which, in case you’ve never tried to cross it, is ONE VEY LARGE STATE! Anyway, if you’ve been keeping up with this story you’ll know that I spent the first night in Hope, Arkansas about 4 hours from Wylie. Given possible weather in Illinois, I decided to take the backroads thru north east Arkansas the next day. I had a great ride, including lunch in Poplar Bluff, MO (again, you read that story, right?) and stopped about 2 hours out of Chicago for the night.
Now we’re getting to the meat of the story. In Chicago I was meeting up with Joy who was coming in from Colorado. And Joy has connections. Frankly, I had no clue what kind of connections until I was standing on a balcony on the 30th floor of a condo looking south down Lake Shore Drive!
We had a view of Lake Michigan and all the boats, as well as Grant Park which was where the Festival was held! We could even see Millennium Park, Michigan Avenue and Pitrello Band Shell, which was the main stage of the festival. Needless to say, we were able to walk to the festival each day. The ability to stumble home without worrying about driving was equally important.
The festival is 4 days of blues on 5 different stages, and best of all, its all FREE! Its in June and I plan to continue to go each year as I have the past few. So, next year I expect to see you there!
The really cool thing was that friends from the burbs actually packed their families up and came down to the fest while we were there. I know more friends would have made it down had they been in town, not had plans, or had their shots.
So, on June 6th at 3pm I called the new Maintenance Lady (formerly known as the new Homeowner) and informed her that the keys were on the counter and I was vacating (I left a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom, and 2 Bud Lites in the fridge (no connection)). At 3:01pm I was on the motorcycle and on my way to Chicago for the Blues Festival.
My main goal given the late start was to get out of Texas, which, in case you’ve never tried to cross it, is ONE VEY LARGE STATE! Anyway, if you’ve been keeping up with this story you’ll know that I spent the first night in Hope, Arkansas about 4 hours from Wylie. Given possible weather in Illinois, I decided to take the backroads thru north east Arkansas the next day. I had a great ride, including lunch in Poplar Bluff, MO (again, you read that story, right?) and stopped about 2 hours out of Chicago for the night.
Now we’re getting to the meat of the story. In Chicago I was meeting up with Joy who was coming in from Colorado. And Joy has connections. Frankly, I had no clue what kind of connections until I was standing on a balcony on the 30th floor of a condo looking south down Lake Shore Drive!
We had a view of Lake Michigan and all the boats, as well as Grant Park which was where the Festival was held! We could even see Millennium Park, Michigan Avenue and Pitrello Band Shell, which was the main stage of the festival. Needless to say, we were able to walk to the festival each day. The ability to stumble home without worrying about driving was equally important.
The festival is 4 days of blues on 5 different stages, and best of all, its all FREE! Its in June and I plan to continue to go each year as I have the past few. So, next year I expect to see you there!
The really cool thing was that friends from the burbs actually packed their families up and came down to the fest while we were there. I know more friends would have made it down had they been in town, not had plans, or had their shots.
But it was fun to spend time with Al, Micheline and Gabby and their friends whose names escape me, Russ and Debbie, of course Bill, and Joy and her nephew Eric and his girlfriend.
I’ll be honest, the entertainers we saw were all great, but to list everyone by name isn’t going to happen. I saw a LOT of great blues artists, often on stage with other headliners. So, rather than go thru the program and list names, lets just say you need to go next year. But, you can go here to see some of the reviews and write ups of the fest (http://chicagobluesfestival.org/).
So, Monday morning I packed my stuff on the bike and headed south. I rode down to Memphis and stayed there for the night, including a visit to Beale Street (more blues) which has become a tradition for me for any trip south from the Midwest. Beale Street is probably like any other entertainment district in any other city, just that its geared toward blues, so its my favorite.
I’ll be honest, the entertainers we saw were all great, but to list everyone by name isn’t going to happen. I saw a LOT of great blues artists, often on stage with other headliners. So, rather than go thru the program and list names, lets just say you need to go next year. But, you can go here to see some of the reviews and write ups of the fest (http://chicagobluesfestival.org/).So, Monday morning I packed my stuff on the bike and headed south. I rode down to Memphis and stayed there for the night, including a visit to Beale Street (more blues) which has become a tradition for me for any trip south from the Midwest. Beale Street is probably like any other entertainment district in any other city, just that its geared toward blues, so its my favorite.
The next day I headed back to Texas, with the realization that I sold my house and everything I owned was either in storage, parked in someone’s back yard, dumped at a friend’s house, or packed on the back of the bike.
Hmmmmmm, seems I need a place to live.
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